Digital versatile discs (“DVDs”) are commonly used to distribute digital multimedia content such as video (e.g., movies and television programming), music, software and games. Current DVDs use a copy-protection methodology know as Content Scrambling System, or “CSS,” to prevent copying of the digital multimedia content stored on the DVD to other storage media, through “burning” to an optical disc or by copying to a computer's hard disk drive, for example. Next generation DVDs, which have significantly higher storage density than current formats, are also planned to utilize copy protection (for example, Advanced Access Content System or “AACS”) to implement similar types of copy-protection capabilities. Given the ease at which digital data can otherwise be copied without any degradation in quality, multimedia content providers and producers generally view copy-protection as being necessary to protect the often considerable investment required to create the multimedia content.
As consumers become increasingly familiar with purchasing, renting and using multimedia content, a variety of efforts have been made to give more flexibility in how properly acquired digital content can be consumed. For example, consumers often expect to be able to play multimedia content on devices such as personal computers (“PCs”) and portable media players, as well as share content across home networks. Copy protection schemes that are cumbersome to use, or which do not adequately meet consumer expectations as to fair usage of purchased or rented content, are more likely to be circumvented, and multimedia content providers using such copy-protection are often viewed unfavorably.